Destination Unknown: Paradigm of Strategy
by TaleWeaver
Summary: AU series: Lydecker decides to change tactics in the hunt for X5-493, by teaming his identical twin X5-494 with Ben’s ‘sister’ Max.


TITLE: Paradigm of strategy SERIES: Destination Unknown AUTHOR: TaleWeaver DISCLAIMER: RATING/CONTENT: SPOILERS: Pollo Loco, general background for series and characters. DISTRIBUTION: SUMMARY: Takes place congruent with Haven: Lydecker decides to change tactics in the hunt for X5-493, by teaming his identical twin X5-494 with Ben's 'sister' Max.  
  
* PARADIGM OF STRATEGY  
  
PART ONE: LYDECKER  
  
Colonel Donald Lydecker was not having a good day. Another of X5-494's prey had been found, this time in Miami. It had been easy to lean on the ME there, but he'd just returned to have another tete a tete with that bitch Renfro. She was after something; granted, that was par for the course at Manticore, but Lydecker sensed that her agenda ran deeper than normal.  
  
Deck sighed and looked at two of the files in front of him. At times like this he really missed Sandeman. While those in the inner circles were all aware that he'd been the chief figure in the founding of Manticore and the development of the X series, Lydecker was one of only a handful remaining who knew that Sandeman had designed all the X series up to no 6, when he'd been forced out. Since then, none of the X series had been completely 'original'; the X7's were clones of the X5's, the X8's were second- generation crosses - genetically speaking, each of the X8's were the children of two X5 series parents. The upcoming X10 series would be the same principle using the X6's. The X9's, now toddlers, were a special breeding project that Lydecker hadn't been privy to, occupied as he was with the search for his 'kids'.  
  
Ben was the priority right now; not only was he bringing Manticore perilously close to possible exposure, but the lab people were dying to see what had made Ben psychotic, when he'd never shown any sign of it before the escape. Ben was also one of the single pair of twins Sandeman had designed. Lydecker was the only one at Manticore who knew that Sandeman had not only done the genetic manipulation on the X5 embryos himself, but he'd personally mapped the design of each and every one of the X5's, for specific purposes.  
  
493 and 494 had been purposely created. Two copies of the same design. That's why 494, though having an exemplary record, had been through a six- month stint in Psy Ops when Ben started signing his work. Lydecker often wondered if that period had had something to do with 494's aberrant behaviour on the Berrisford mission.  
  
Lydecker was going to try to use that shared genetic heritage in a different way of tracking Ben. With the two he'd received permission to put on this mission, he'd have both advantages. Nurture and nature.  
  
Right on cue, there was a knock on the door.  
  
"Come."  
  
A young woman approximately twenty years old entered and snapped a salute.  
  
"X5-452 reporting as requested, Sir."  
  
"At ease," Deck replied. He gestured to one of the chairs across from him, and told her, "Take a seat, Max."  
  
The young woman gave him a lovely smile edged with humour, and sat down. "Thanks, Deck."  
  
452 had escaped Manticore with most of her unit in 2009, and he'd personally re-captured her in 2016. The re-indoctrination had somehow not been as effective as usual; while she was perfectly content at and devoted to Manticore, 452 had kept her own distinct, fiery personality. With a very select few, she still preferred to be called Max, the name she'd given herself as a child. Deck was one of those few.  
  
Deck never ceased to feel a pang every time he looked at the beautiful dark- haired, dark-eyed woman. Max bore a DNA sample from his dead wife, Olivia, as did her 'sister' 453, who had been deployed to another facility as an infant. No one else living knew that Sandeman had recruited him as the X5's trainer while they were still in the design stage. Deck had been especially curious about the children who would receive his beloved Olivia's DNA, and he'd never told anyone that Sandeman had made 453 identical in appearance to 452 as a personal favor to him. Deck was also the only one at Manticore who knew that X4-452 - Max - had something that her 'twin', 453 didn't. He'd heard Sandeman call 453 a 'decoy' once.  
  
Lydecker was pulled out of his musings by Max's voice.  
  
"What's going on, Deck?" she frowned. "You're not sending me after one of the others, are you? I'm still working with Brin to get her re-acclimated. Jace leaving was a significant setback in that area."  
  
Lydecker gave her a narrow-eyed look, which Max returned innocently. Lydecker had his own suspicions about Max's plans for the future; from almost the moment she'd come out of her re-indoctrination she'd asked for extra classes in command and tactics, with a view to getting out of the field and into the upper echelons of Manticore's chain of command. Max was up to something; Lydecker would bet his entire gun collection on it. But she was being so subtle about it, Lydecker was the only one even remotely suspicious. The plan wasn't aimed at him personally, he was sure of that, so Lydecker wasn't pushing it at the moment.  
  
Deck told her, "I'd rather wait until your new partner gets here. I want you both to hear it at the same time."  
  
Max's eyebrows rose. While she kept perfect parade-ground blankness most of the time, Lydecker was one of a select few who, like using her name, was allowed to see how expressive her face could be. "Partner?"  
  
Deck let a smile cross his own face in anticipation. He knew these two soldiers would work together superbly, but it was going to be interesting seeing them interact as personalities.  
  
Just then, there was another knock at the door. The X5's really did have a perfect sense of timing.  
  
PART TWO: MAX  
  
Max sat up in parade-ground attitude and posture as the knock came at the door. Despite the blank look on her face, she was extremely curious - well, cat DNA - and also intrigued. Max had been out on a number of missions since her re-indoctrination, but they had mostly been in groups; she'd never had a partner before. What sort of mission was this?  
  
She heard the heavier footsteps of a man behind her as the other X5 - she could tell that much - approached.  
  
"X5-494 reporting for duty, sir."  
  
"At ease. Take a seat. This," Lydecker indicated her with a gesture, "is X5-452. You'll be partnered together for this assignment."  
  
"Partnered, sir?" X5-494 asked. Max could understand the well-hidden tone of curiosity in his voice; partnerships weren't very common. Missions tended to be solo, or in minimum groups of four.  
  
494 turned to look at her, and Max met his eyes with her own. For a moment, she could have sworn she felt the world shift around her.  
  
As 494 sat, Max studied him in her peripheral vision. That he was handsome was a given - the X5's were designed to be perfect aesthetically as well. But this man struck her as being very appealing on a personal level; in her time on the outside, she'd have noticed him, and made it her business to find out more. His movements were full of animal grace, and carefully controlled violence that made him look dangerous without being obvious about it. She wondered if he moved that well in bed.  
  
Max snapped her attention back to the present, mortified. How could she have let her concentration lapse like that? And on such a subject? She caught Lydecker's eye, and hers narrowed imperceptibly. He was up to something. He'd anticipated *something * at this meeting.  
  
"This will be an informal-style briefing. I'll value your input on this mission."  
  
Max saw 494 relax slightly, and the corner of his mouth tilted up. For some reason, she was hyper-aware of him; Max found herself taking deep slow breaths to draw in as much of his scent as possible. Lydecker clicked the control, and an image sprang to life on the viewing screen behind him. Max suppressed a gasp, as she recognized her brother Ben's picture.  
  
"Do you know who this is?"  
  
"X5-493" "Ben"  
  
494 looked at her inquiringly, and Max said calmly, "We grew up in the same unit. That's what we called him."  
  
494 looked back at Deck, and recited. "One of the traitors who went AWOL in 2009."  
  
"Traitor?" Max said acerbically. Devoted though she was to Manticore now, at the time of the escape she and her siblings had believed that nothing less than their own survival was at stake. Max was working on changing that.  
  
494 merely tilted an eyebrow, and his mouth twisted in a smirk. "Present company classified as 'former', of course."  
  
"Of course," Max said dryly, wondering how he'd managed to develop a sense of humour while in Manticore his whole life.  
  
"Is this about 493's unauthorised killings?" asked 494.  
  
Max's head snapped to look at Lydecker. At her expression, Lydecker grimaced in apology. "I'm sorry, 452, I wanted to deal with this personally. 493 has been committing ritualistic murders."  
  
"For how long?"  
  
"We first detected his pattern 20 months ago. His killings were spaced far apart at first, but have begun to rapidly increase," Lydecker passed her a file. "The details of the ritual are in here. Basically, he seems to be re-enacting a training exercise from early '08, including some kind of ritual sacrifice involving religious icons, particularly the Virgin Mary."  
  
Max kept very still. The Blue Lady.  
  
Lydecker passed an identical file to 494. "While I'm aware that you've already participated in attempts to track him, 494, I'm going to try something a little different."  
  
"Meaning?" 494 asked. The life had drained from his voice, and Max found herself wondering what had brought on the dead tone of voice in someone who radiated life, even while at attention  
  
"The attempts I've made to track 493 were more successful than anyone else's - though that isn't saying much. My knowledge of his mind is the asset. That's why I'm teaming the two of you together; 494 is 493's identical twin. Research has proven that twins can often anticipate each other's reactions. 452 was raised with Ben. Between the two of you, you know 493 better than anyone else and you're both exceptional soldiers. If you can't track and stop him, no one can."  
  
Lydecker leaned forward, his gaze intent. "493's recovery has become a Priority Red. His killings are close to exposing Manticore." He sat back and continued, "Study the intel in your folders. You leave at 0600 tomorrow morning, under deep cover. You'll be detailed on stipend and given civilian clothing this afternoon. Report to the prop master at 2000 this evening. Dismissed."  
  
Max and 494 both stood at attention, then left the room.  
  
PART THREE: ALEC  
  
As 452 shut the door, 494 couldn't help the twisted smile that broke out.  
  
"Have you ever actually met him?" asked a quiet voice beside him.  
  
494 glanced sideways at 452. "Not personally. But I've been told enough about him."  
  
This woman had an odd effect on him. The first time they'd locked gazes, 494 had felt something crack, deep inside. Now, as their eyes met again, he felt something odd stirring inside, that he hadn't felt in so long that he couldn't quite identify it. Even on an unconscious level, it unsettled him enough that he let some of his hostility show. "Guess the outside world finally got to him."  
  
452's eyes flashed, and she pressed her lips together before she retorted, "I very much doubt that."  
  
494 wondered idly what her first response would have been. Then he replied, "Don't freak out on me. All I know is that because of him, I had to spend six months in Psy Ops. They wanted to make sure it wasn't genetic."  
  
Her eyes softened; she must have heard the stories about Psy Ops too. Before his stay there, 494 had thought the stories exaggerated - sort of Manticore's version of a ghost story or urban legend. Actually, the stories paled beside the true experience. 494 knew that his time there had left deep, permanent scars on his mind and soul. He already knew that Psy Ops wanted to 'talk' to 493. Come to think of it, he'd really like to 'chat' with 493 himself.  
  
It had had one unexpected side effect though; it had broken his absolute loyalty to Manticore. 494 could no longer give absolute devotion and trust to someone who had - not to put too fine a point on it - tortured him mentally and physically.  
  
It was after that he'd started to develop his own little black market inside Manticore. This assignment would play havoc with that, too. Though he'd kept the market going while on previous missions, it would be a lot harder this time, on account of his not knowing when he'd be back. On the bright side, he could expand his contacts.  
  
On the even brighter side, he'd be spending time with this woman. Maybe he could get some recreation with her - he hadn't had sex outside Valentine Ops since his last solo mission, and he missed it. 452 interested him.  
  
"So, it's looks like we'll be working together pretty closely for a while, 452."  
  
Her eyes narrowed speculatively, then opened fully again. "Max." At his inquiring look, she told him, "My name's Max. If we're going to be on this mission for awhile, you can call me Max." At his sardonic look, she added contemplatively, "You should have a name too."  
  
494 snorted in disdain. "My designation's 494."  
  
"Doesn't suit you," she told him calmly, shaking her head.  
  
494 wondered briefly if this wasn't breaching the rules governing off- mission behaviour, and why the hell she cared anyway, but dismissed it. Was it really important? If it kept her happy and helped make her more agreeable, what was it to him? Something told 494 that 452 - Max - was the type to turn into a 'bitch on wheels' if annoyed or thwarted.  
  
452 examined his face for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "I'm gonna call you... Alec."  
  
"Alec," repeated 494, trying out the new designation. He did rather like the way it sounded. Not too weak, not too macho. Not too common, not too unusual.  
  
452 smirked, and clarified, "As in smart alec."  
  
494 was hard put to conceal a smirk of his own. After Common Verbal Usage, a few of his fellow classmates had called him that, and it did fit. 494 shrugged, and answered, "I can live with that."  
  
"Good, because my second choice was Dick."  
  
494 nearly lost the battle to keep a straight face then and there. He hoped that was a signal of her own intentions; this is one woman he'd look forward to hitting the sheets with. Knowing his luck, though, he doubted it. 494 gave up, and graced her with his best smirk. "I guess I'll see you later then, *Max *."  
  
452 smirked back at him, and they left in opposite directions.  
  
FINI 


End file.
